


Growing Up in Kvatch

by SooperChicken



Series: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Adventure, Affection, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Discovery, F/M, Growing Up, Innocence, Jealousy, Loss of Innocence, Promises, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:17:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7967521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SooperChicken/pseuds/SooperChicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of the childhood of the Hero of Kvatch as she grew up with Martin Septim and the other 'Kvatch Kids'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Courage

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody!
> 
> Just a little Elder Scrolls IV fanfiction for you! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions you might have for me, helpful tips are always appreciated ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The young Hero of Kvatch approaches the other children of the city in an effort to make friends. She is shy at first, but is coaxed out of her shell by Weedum-Ja and the handsome young farmer's son, Martin. It is the start of several beautiful friendships, and one very special friendship in particular.

"Hey...Uh...Please can I play too?"

The little Argonian girl turned around to see an equally little Imperial stood there with her hands behind her back, looking down at her feet as she shyly kicked stones over the setts. She gave her a wide, sharp-toothed grin.

"Of course you can play! The more the merrier!" she said cheerfully. "My name's Weedum-Ja. What's yours?"

The Imperial girl finally looked up and smiled. "My name's Briinah. I'm happy to meet you,"

Weedum-Ja, who was the same age as Briinah, smiled even brighter and grabbed her hand before running over to join the others. Briinah had seen the other children kicking a ball around or playing other games from where she timidly spied on them from her father's workshop just off the town square. There was the Argonian girl--Weedum-Ja--and six others. Two older Imperial boys, a High Elf boy and a Wood Elf boy, an Orc girl and a Redguard girl. They all looked as though they had such good fun playing every day, rain or shine. Briinah had always wanted to ask them if she could play too, but she was always much too shy. Then, one day, her father had encouraged her to step out from the shelter of the workshop and go and meet the other children instead of being his assistant.

She loved being her father's assistant, but he'd said that there would be plenty of time for that in the future.

"Hey, everyone! This is Briinah!" Weedum-Ja announced to the others. They all stopped running around and kicking the ball they had with them and stared at Briinah with curiosity.

"Aren't you the fletcher's daughter?" said one of the older boys. Briinah recognised him as the son of one of her father's best customers; he always came in to buy new arrows and, less frequently, new bows because her father was also the city's bowyer. Once he'd bought two, and she'd later seen him give one to his son.

"Yes," she replied. "You like archery too, don't you? Like your father,"

The boy smiled down at her and nodded. "That's right. I'm Jesan," he said. "Nice to meet you,"

Briinah smiled, and even more so as the others all introduced themselves with eagerness. She had been worried that they would shun her, tell her to go away, but they were all very friendly and welcoming of her.

"I'm Tierra," said the Redguard.

"I'm Batul," said the Orc.

The two elves had been staring, transfixed, at Briinah for the past five minutes until Jesan clapped them both over the backs of their heads to get them to focus. "Oh, uh...! I'm Merandil!" said the High Elf with a slight stammer.

"And I'm Athrelor," said the Wood Elf. The height difference between the pair of them was striking, even at a young age. Still the Wood Elf continued to stare at Briinah, until she was forced to look away with a blush at being studied so intensely.

The last one to introduce themselves was the other older boy. He looked to be slightly younger than Jesan, but a few years older than everyone else including Briinah. He had the brightest blue eyes, full of intelligence and kindness, and soft brown hair framing his even softer features. Briinah realised that he was the local farmer's son, and could often be seen coming into the city to sell the farm's produce.

"W-what's your name?" she ventured, reaching out to him with a direct question. He didn't seem as though he wasn't going to answer, but he seemed to be intrigued by something. She touched her hair--maybe there was sawdust in it or something and she hadn't known about it.

"Martin," he said gently, and with a kind smile. "I'm glad you came to play with us at last,"

Briinah's eyes grew wide and she nearly baulked, but stood her ground. Had he noticed her before? "You know who I am?" she asked nervously.

He chuckled a little, his voice a soothing melody to make her forget all her fears of meeting new people. "I've seen you hiding in your father's workshop," he said. "In fact, I said to the others not long ago that if you didn't come out soon we should all go and call on you,"

Briinah blushed hotly and looked at her feet again. So they had seen her. At least, Martin had. "I'm sorry...I was just too shy to come out before,"

"That's alright," said Martin sweetly. "You're here now, and we can all be friends,"

With that, everyone cheered for friendship and Jesan ran off to fetch the ball, which had rolled off into the grass a short distance away. Weedum-Ja stayed by Briinah's side all day long, teaching her the rules and the ins and outs of all the games they played that day. Basic games like tag didn't need explaining, nor did hide-and-seek, but other games like Stuck-in-the-Mud did.

By the end of the day, Briinah felt as though she had found her true friends, and she had never felt more complete in all of her young life. She hoped that it would last forever, and knew that the memories would last even longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> First chapter of this little fanfiction! It's supposed to be a cute, coming-of-age piece so I hope it started out well! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	2. Butterfly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We skip forward a year or so and see how far the young Hero of Kvatch has come in her new social circle.

Weedum-Ja straightened up, puffing out her chest and raising her head further than she held it naturally. She grinned at Briinah and said, "See? Told you I was bigger,"

Briinah tutted and rolled her eyes in jest. "That's cheating," she said to her best friend, nudging her slightly with her elbow. "You're deliberately making yourself taller,"

The Argonian laughed and let herself down, returning to her normal size. "Yeah, yeah, okay. But I'm still bigger than you, anyway," she teased.

Briinah sighed and admitted that yes, at this juncture Weedum-Ja had grown more than her. "I'll get taller one day soon, just watch," she said. "And I'll be strong like my father,"

The two girls smiled. They both wanted to be like their parents when they grew up. Weedum-Ja always thought how lucky Briinah was, having her parents so nearby. Her mother worked at the Mages Guild with Weedum-Ja's mother, but Weedum-Ja's father worked at the Gottshaw Inn down the road from Kvatch, on the way to Anvil whereas Briinah had hers right there in town at his workshop. Of course, though, the little Argonian was grateful that her father was able to come home every evening rather than staying at the inn.

"We need to get bigger and stronger so that we can play-fight with the boys!" said Weedum-Ja with great conviction. "Can you imagine the looks on their faces if we beat them?"

Briinah giggled. "I'd like to see that," she said. "Oh, look! Here comes Merandil!" She pointed at the rather excited looking elf running towards them. He wasn't one of the boys in their group that they were too fussed about winning a pretend fight with, since he was a little too gentle and soft-hearted to do such a thing. He preferred to referee between the 'combatants', but he--like Jesan--was very good at archery.

"Hey!" he panted, slowing down before he barrelled into them. "You'll never believe what Athrelor just found!"

"What did he find?" asked Weedum-Ja.

"Come and see!"

The High Elf ran off again in the direction he'd come from, waving wildly over his shoulder to get the girls to follow. They looked at each other and grinned, before hopping down off the wall on which they sat and hurried after their friend. He led them all the way to the town square, where Athrelor was stood by the statue in the centre gazing at something in his hands.

"Hey, Athrelor! Show the girls what you found!" puffed Merandil, coming to a standstill beside the Wood Elf. Athrelor looked up and, at first, wore an expression of defence over his find. When he saw Briinah standing there with glittering, expectant eyes he changed his mind and came closer to her. Even at a young age Athrelor was absolutely smitten with Briinah, even though she was eight and he was ten and he had competition with Merandil.

"What is it? What is it?!" babbled Weedum-Ja excitedly, looking over to see what Athrelor was surreptitiously showing them both.

"It's a jewel...!" gasped Briinah. It seemed oddly familiar to her, but she just couldn't place where she'd seen it before.

"Yes, it's a ruby," said Athrelor. "I think somebody must have dropped it; I found it by the side of the road earlier. What a find, eh?!" He searched Briinah's pretty little face for signs that she was impressed with the treasure.

"It is beautiful," she admitted. "I can't help feeling like I've seen it before, though..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." she mused, wracking her brain over the matter. Then it dawned on her. "Oh!" she blurted.

"What is it?" Weedum-Ja looked surprised by Briinah's sudden outburst.

"This belongs to the Count!" she replied. "He showed it to me once when I went to the castle with my father,"

"Whoa..." breathed Merandil. "So how did it get out here?"

"Someone must have stolen it from him!" said Briinah crossly. The Count was like an uncle to her because of the close brotherly relationship he had with her father, so it stood to reason that it angered her that he had been robbed. "We need to return it!"

Athrelor looked none too impressed with the idea, but knew that it was the right thing to do. He'd just wanted to show off a bit with the treasure he'd found. "Okay then..." he said reluctantly. "But you should go instead...I don't want the Count to think that I was the one who stole it!" He pressed the gemstone into Briinah's palm, suggesting that she should be the one to go to the castle.

"Alright...Who wants to come with me, then?" said Briinah, looking between Weedum-Ja and Merandil.

"I'll come! I've never been to the castle before!" announced Weedum-Ja. She and Briinah were mostly inseparable. After all, they were best friends and the two youngest members of the group. Everybody within their circle of friends had a pair corresponding to their ages: Weedum-Ja and Briinah were the youngest at eight, Batul and Tierra were nine, the Elves were ten and Martin and Jesan were eleven and twelve, respectively.

The two girls waved a short goodbye to the two elven boys and headed for the castle. There was a short discussion about what to do when they got to the guards, but Briinah explained that they knew her and would therefore let them inside. As they were crossing the drawbridge, they spotted Martin leaving the castle with his father after their audience with the Count, Ormellius Goldwine. Both father and son smiled at the girls as they passed by, with Martin issuing a friendly "Good afternoon," as he did so.

As they continued on, Weedum-Ja glanced back at Briinah, who was blushing pink. "Hey, you're blushing!" said the Argonian, pointing this fact out.

"No I'm not!" Briinah protested with vehemence.

Weedum-Ja grinned a toothy grin. "You've got a crush on Martin!" she teased.

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

They carried on like this all the way into the Great Hall to wait for their own audience with the Count. Weedum-Ja didn't drop the subject until he appeared, shutting up very quickly indeed as soon as she spotted him. Ormellius' eyes immediately came to rest on the girl he fondly considered to be his niece and hurried over to her with great delight at her presence.

"Briinah, my little butterfly!" he cried out in joy. He crouched down on one knee and extended his arms, encouraging her to come to him. She ran over with glee and hugged him, greeting him as she did so.

"Hello, Uncle!" she said happily. "How are you?"

"I am well thank you, my dear," he replied. "And yourself? How are your parents?"

"We are all very well, thanks!" she said. "We've brought you something," Briinah looked over her shoulder at Weedum-Ja who, for once in her life, wore a very meek expression and appeared to be very shy.

"Ah, and what might that be?" he asked, standing up while still holding the little girl on his hip. He'd never married and so didn't have any children of his own, but Briinah was the apple of his eye and between her and her parents they were all the family he needed.

Briinah carefully produced the beautiful precious stone from the little satchel on her hip and showed it to him. "Our friend found it by the roadside in the square..."

The Count's eyes instantly grew as wide as saucers and he gently took it from her much-smaller hand. "This was stolen from me not long ago..." he whispered, admiring the jewel now back in his possession.

"I knew it..." grumbled the little girl in his arms. "When I saw it again, I remembered you saying that it was an 'heirloom'...Your father gave it to you, didn't he?"

"Yes, dear..." he said. "It is very important to me,"

After a little more inspection of the bauble, the Count's face broke out into a delighted grin. "Thank you both for being honest and bringing it back to me," he said. "I shall make certain that both of you, and your friends, are rewarded for the return of this precious item,"

With that, he gently set Briinah down on the carpeted floor and ruffled her dark hair. She gazed up happily at him with her big green eyes before running back to Weedum-Ja, who had been waiting patiently where she'd left her. They bade farewell to the Count and went on their way, heading back across the drawbridge and back into town.

"I didn't know you were that close to the Count!" said Weedum-Ja excitedly.

"Yes...I often go with my father to visit him," Briinah replied shyly. "But he means what he says: he'll definitely reward you!"

"I wonder what he'll do..."

As they walked back into the city square, the sun was beginning to fall towards the horizon and the rooftops of Kvatch. The light bounced off the great stained-glass window of the Chapel of Akatosh and would have blinded the two girls had they not shielded their eyes first. As they approached, they saw that all of their friends had reassembled in the square and were all chatting happily among themselves. 

Briinah wouldn't admit it out loud, but she could not deny in her own mind how much her heart soared when Martin turned around to greet them. He smiled at her from over his shoulder, kind blue eyes shining.

"Welcome back,"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!
> 
> Thank you for reading the second chapter of 'Growing Up in Kvatch'! I really appreciate you sticking with it; you're amaaaaaaaazing! ^_^
> 
> P.S.: The first time I wrote this chapter I lost literally everything when the site crashed, so if this one isn't quite as good as maybe it could have been, it's because I kind of lost the will with it. Really sorry about that, but as you can see I tried again!
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	3. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, the 'Kvatch Kids' are at school and learning more advanced subjects, better suited to their ages and abilities. As they prepare themselves for adulthood, to embark on a journey into a brave new world, how do they prepare themselves for their emotional adventures at home?

"Ugh. I  _hate_ alchemy," grumbled Batul gra-Sharob. It wasn't just because she couldn't get a good grade in the subject; it was more to do with the fact that she couldn't stand all the delicate processes and strange smells.

"It's not that bad," said Tierra. "Although duel practice is much more fun!"

Briinah and Martin walked alongside each other, not far behind Batul and Tierra. Briinah couldn't decide which subject she liked best; they were all equally interesting. Her mother helped her with magic-based subjects and her father helped with combat-based subjects. She looked up at Martin and asked him which subject was his favourite.

"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "I think lore is very interesting, especially when we learn history with it,"

Briinah smiled. They had been friends for several years now, and she knew him well enough that she was well aware of how much of a bookworm he was. She was sixteen while he was nineteen, and they were probably the two most academic members of their group, although Briinah was equally hands-on and good in her practical studies. She enjoyed duel practice and magic lessons and archery. Martin enjoyed magic too, but he preferred not to handle weapons if he could help it.

Briinah knew this, but also realised that this didn't stop him from being good with a sword.

"Would you like to work together on homework this evening?" Martin asked her, pulling her out of her daydream.

"Oh! Uh...Yeah, that'd be great!" she said, injecting more enthusiasm into her reply than she'd originally intended. Martin didn't seem to mind at all. He gave her his usual sparkly-eyed smile, reassuring her that she hadn't sounded overzealous. "Where should we go?"

"How about the well? It's a nice day, and we can sit on the wall,"

"Sounds good," Briinah couldn't suppress the smile that appeared on her face, forcing its way to the surface.

The two broke off from the rest of the group who were all headed towards the Chapel. Neither Martin nor Briinah knew what they were doing, but at least they had something to do. The well wasn't far away from the town square, with the statue in the centre being in view during the winter but in summer the leaves of the trees obscured it. It was quite secluded then.

As they sat down, Martin already had his book open. Briinah looked at him curiously, and said with affection, "Always with your nose in a book,"

He chuckled, a low and melodic sound. It filled Briinah's heart with joy. "I do apologise..." he said, lowering his voice to a growl. He grinned and glanced up at her over the edge of his book. His blue eyes pierced her and glued her to the spot.

"Y-you know it's not a problem! I was just teasing you!" Briinah stuttered, unable to draw her eyes away from him. She'd had a crush on him for years now, but she was still no closer to telling him about it than she was when she first started feeling that way.

"I know you were. So I'm teasing you back," he chuckled. He thought about winking at her, but quickly stopped himself from doing so. He felt the blush creeping up his neck at the thought of what would be flirting with her.

Briinah growled in mock indignation and hit him on the arm with her own workbook. He laughed out loud and recoiled slightly, leaning away so that she couldn't reach him again. She laughed too and finally opened her book.

"So what was this homework again?" she said. "Destruction spells?"

"Destruction and restoration," Martin corrected. "I'm fairly certain that we know all of these, though..."

"You've been studying behind the scenes as well, have you?" said Briinah. "I'm impressed but not surprised,"

Martin chuckled once again. "Well I know that you do precisely the same thing," he said. "But you're aiming for a place at the Arcane University, aren't you?"

"Yes, I think it would make my parents proud. Especially my mother,"

Martin nodded his head and looked up from the pages of his book. He really didn't need to keep looking at what was written there; he'd already admitted that he knew the spells already. "I think you make them proud anyway," he said at length. "Your mother is a good teacher, and you're a good person. I don't think she could ask for more from you,"

"Th-thanks..." Briinah stammered. In the silence that followed, they shared a fleeting, gentle look that suggested that they had more to say but Briinah broke the quiet. "Aren't you aiming for that, too?"

Martin smiled and shook his head. "I don't think it's my calling," he replied. "To be honest, I'd rather go my own way and explore the arcane slightly differently,"

"Ah, a rogue mage," Briinah joked. "Just don't get yourself involved in necromancy. They don't tend to look kindly on that field of study," she giggled.

"I would never," he laughed. "Not only is it illegal but I don't find it particularly appealing,"

"Praise Akatosh for that," Briinah smiled sweetly at him, making his heart thud loudly. He nearly lost himself in her green eyes before looking away. He was fond of all of his friends, but he was fondest of Briinah. She was always a pretty little thing, but she'd grown into a beautiful, intelligent young woman and he made his heart leap every time he saw her. He couldn't admit it to anyone, though. Especially not when Athrelor and Merandil liked Briinah so much as well.

"What will you do instead?" she asked, startling him slightly. "You'll finish your studies, won't you?"

"Ah...Yes, of course I will. I just don't know what I'll do afterwards,"

Briinah nodded with understanding. A light wind had picked up and was now blowing her hair across her face. She desperately tried to tuck it behind her ears, and when that didn't work she tucked it into the collar of her apprentice mage robes. When she finally returned to the conversation, Martin was laughing at her.

"Having some trouble over there?"

"None whatsoever," she said sarcastically. That was when she felt the first few drops of rain patter onto her face. She looked up at the sky and saw that, even though the sun still broke through in places, a mass of grey clouds had rolled in over Kvatch and they most certainly promised a downpour. "Oh no! We should get inside!"

As she said that the heavens opened and began dousing everything around them. Martin removed his cowl and put it over Briinah's head, grabbing both of their books before she could protest, and got her onto her feet.

"Run to your house!" he shouted above the roar of the heavy rain. He gently pushed her shoulder to get her to move, then ran after her. Luckily Briinah lived in a house just off the square so they didn't have far to sprint. When they finally reached her house, they stood panting and drenched beneath the porch. Martin's hair was soaked and his clothes were wet through, whereas Briinah was considerably dryer despite also having wet clothes. 

"Oh, Martin, you look like you've been swimming!" she exclaimed, touching his inundated shirt. She removed his cowl from her head and gave it back to him. "Thank you,"

"You're welcome," he laughed and gave her back her book. "I should run home before this gets any worse,"

"No! Stay here a while. You'll only get wetter if you go now..."

She was cut off by Martin putting his hand on her arm and rubbing it gently. "I'll be okay. I can use this," He cast a ward over himself to prove that he'd be able to get home without getting doused any further.

"Why didn't you do that on the way over?!"

Martin just smiled at her, somewhat more shyly than usual. He backed off and waved to her before running down the road towards the city gate. He had a ways to go before the farm where he lived with his father.

Briinah watched him go, her cheeks dusted pink after being blessed with his smile. She was absolutely smitten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy!
> 
> Thank you to all you beautiful people who have just read the third part of this story! Once again, it means so much to me that you're still reading it! ^_^
> 
> P.S. I reduced the age gap between Martin and the Hero of Kvatch to make the fact that they're childhood friends less weird.
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	4. Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'Kvatch Kids' aren't really kids anymore, but that doesn't mean their time at school is finished. Less than six months after Martin and Briinah were caught in the rain, people begin to observe big changes in the local kids. It was clear that they were ready to go out and make something of themselves, but those becoming interested in a darker path were not the ones that anyone expected...

"Hey Briinah, have you seen Martin recently?" said Tierra, turning round in her seat. The young Redguard woman knew that Martin and Briinah were close--not in the same way that Briinah and Weedum-Ja were close--and so she hoped that the Imperial would have some answers.

Briinah's brow crumpled and she suddenly wore an expression of sadness. "I haven't...He hasn't even been in town these past few days..."

"I hope he's okay..." said Tierra worriedly. "It's not like him to skip this much school. I know we're old enough now to make our own decisions but it's our last year...He can't miss this much content,"

"I know...I told him that the last time I saw him," said Briinah. She'd seen Martin about a week earlier, after he'd been skipping school for a few weeks even before then. She'd told him that he was missing a lot of things, both at the Mages Guild and the Fighters Guild where they received all of their combat training and blacksmith lessons. He'd gently brushed her off, telling her it was fine, but when Jesan--he'd already left school and was training to join the Kvatch City Guard--mentioned it to him, Martin snapped at him that it wasn't his business. Briinah had never heard him use that tone of voice with anyone and it was shocking to say the least.

Something was going on with him, and she was concerned. She didn't know what it was, and therefore knew of no way to help him. Perhaps he didn't want to be helped.

" _He seems cheerful enough when I **do** see him..._ " she thought to herself, taking her seat in the classroom. She took her alteration spellbook out of her desk and opened it up to where she'd left off, just as Weedum-Ja's mother walked in--she was their Alteration professor.

Looking at Weedum-Ja's mother reminded her of the day when she and Weedum-Ja had returned the Count's ruby to him. He had called upon each of them about a month later and asked them what kind of reward they would like best. Briinah remembered, clear as day, how her best friend had told the Count that the one thing she wanted most was for her father to be able to work closer to home. That being said, the Count had summoned for Weedum-Ja's father and offered him a job working in the court of Castle Kvatch.

At the memory, Briinah touched her own reward from the Count. She hadn't requested anything of him, but when everybody had gone home and she remained with her father--he had accompanied her there that day--he had presented her with a beautiful necklace. The stone in the pendant was fiery red, and it hadn't taken her long to realise that the stone was a cut from the one she had come to return.

She had worn it every day since.

Just as she was leafing through the pages of the spellbook, she heard the door at the back of the room open. She turned around with curiosity; the lesson had started as soon as the teacher had walked in. There was a set time for class to start and everybody knew that. Anyone who was late to class usually just didn't bother showing up in case they got in trouble. But the people she saw walking in were well-known in town for being badly behaved, these days.

And in their midst was Martin. Briinah stared at him in utter disbelief.

He wore a smirk that one could only describe as cocky, and it matched those that his companions wore. He took his seat at the desk next to Briinah's while the others took theirs too, all around the room. The teacher glared at them all as though she had never, in all her years, witnessed such audacious behaviour. Martin didn't meet the teacher's gaze, but he could feel somebody else looking at him and he knew that their opinion of him mattered.

He glanced to his left and saw Briinah sat there gawking at him. She looked upset, for want of a better word. Borderline disappointed. He didn't care that what he was doing was wrong. He did care that Briinah was sad about it. He offered her a sidelong smile which he hoped would reassure her and serve as an apology until he got a chance to say so later on. He didn't get that chance.

He, along with the others, were called back after class that day for a severe "talking to". Weedum-Ja's mother said that they should be grateful that she wasn't going to call on their parents to tell them that they thought that being late to lessons was an acceptable way to behave. She sent them all home with that thought, but as soon as Martin got outside he couldn't see any of his real friends anywhere. He had befriended the badly behaved people in class because of how fed up they were with school. His real friends had all gone home. Including Briinah.

He decided to go to her house. The day was wearing on and the sky was pale blue in the late afternoon, but the coolness of the impending twilight did not deter him. He didn't mind if going to see Briinah would force him to return to his father's farm in the dark--he wanted to know what she thought of him. Was he no better than a delinquent in her eyes now?

He paused before knocking upon the door. Steeling himself for what he might hear from her, he finally rapped once, twice, thrice upon the wood. Briinah's father was the one to answer the door, and when he saw him he gave a small smile of recognition.

"Briinah, you have a friend here to see you," he called over his shoulder. Martin tensed up, realising that his friend was very nearby.

"Hello..." he said when he saw her approaching.

"Martin..." she said with surprise. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you. Were you alright earlier? In class, I mean,"

"Well..." she sighed. "I was surprised at you. I never expected you to get in with  _that_ crowd,"

Martin looked down at his feet in shame. He couldn't tell her the real reason why he was friends with those people as well now, but he felt guilty enough about disappointing her that he could forget about it for the time being. "I'm sorry about that. We're all just fed up with school so we all...banded together,"

"You didn't fall out with anyone in our group, did you?" asked Briinah, concerned that he was skirting around the truth. He looked mortified.

"No! No, you're all my closest friends! I could never fall out with or abandon any of you,"

"That's well, then," she said.

They talked a little more, seeing as they hadn't seen each other for quite some time, before the sun finally dipped below the horizon and dyed the sky lilac and pink. When it did, Martin politely, although reluctantly, took his leave and waved goodbye to Briinah. He hoped that she didn't dislike him for becoming the person he had, but there was little he could do about it except make up for it somehow. And so, before heading out early the next morning from home, Martin stopped by in the city itself to leave flowers at Briinah's doorstep.

-

"Where could he have gone this time?!" Briinah despaired. According to his father, Martin hadn't been gone for very long at all. He too was worried about his son but he had to keep an eye on the farm, lest bandits or goblins attack. Those were serious problems in those parts.

Just then, she spotted him heading towards the city gate. Briinah had been sat on the steps to the Chapel of Akatosh when she spotted him, so instead of running over to catch him and drag him to class with her, she had the  _brilliant_ idea to follow him instead, to see where he went off to every time he skipped school. She didn't mind missing a few lessons if it meant keeping Martin out of trouble.

It probably wasn't her job to keep him out of mischief, but she wanted to know where he was going anyway.

She watched him from a distance as they came down the great winding hill to the city, and as he mounted up on his horse. Briinah thought that her father wouldn't mind if she borrowed his horse for a little while, so she did and continued to follow Martin across the sprawling green fields of the Cyrodiilic countryside. Not once did Martin look back, so Briinah wasn't sure if he was deliberately leading her or if he genuinely hadn't noticed her tailing him.

They rode for miles, to the point where Briinah was seriously doubting that Martin regularly travelled all this distance just to play truant. Was it really worth it?

Eventually Briinah spotted ahead of them an enormous statue, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as soon as she realised what it was. It was a Daedric shrine, a shrine to whom she did not know but that was not the point at this stage. When they came closer, Briinah dismounted and left her horse some distance down the hill. She hid behind a tree while keeping her eye on Martin as he rode even closer to the shrine. They were out in the middle of nowhere, but Briinah could clearly see people staggering around with tables set out. The shrine, she could see now, was dedicated to Sanguine. She could hardly contain her shock.

Martin was a worshipper of Sanguine...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!
> 
> This was Chapter Four of 'Growing Up in Kvatch'! Thank you for reading, lovely people! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	5. Cultists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The young Hero of Kvatch has had her world shaken up by the revelation of the fact that not only is her close friend and crush going off the rails, but he's also now involved with a cult of hedonism and debauchery. What will she do now?

Briinah stood there, staring in disbelief, as Martin jumped down off his horse and led it to a spot slightly away from the group of revellers. As soon as he'd done that, though, a group of four other young men came bounding over to him with bottles in hand and cheering loudly. All Briinah could hear from this distance was that they were shouting Martin's name. She recognised the other boys as the ones who were in their Alteration class--the delinquents--and two of them threw their arms around Martin's shoulders to escort him further into the party.

She crouched down and crept closer, keeping close to anything that offered a shadow. She was within earshot of everything now--it was all so loud, but then again they could afford to be in the middle of nowhere--and could clearly see everything that was going on. Briinah could still see Martin, now sitting at a table surrounded by people she assumed were his friends, laughing and drinking with them. More unsettling, she could see pretty girls dancing around, flirting with the men. There was one at Martin's table.

He wasn't hers but she still felt the pangs of jealousy in her chest. He wasn't even looking at her, but that wasn't the point.

"What's the matter, doll? Do you want to join in the festivities too?" A purring, male voice resounded from behind her, smooth like honey and sensual beyond anything she'd ever heard in her life. She whirled around and came face-to-face with a handsome man with very dark hair and very dark eyes. They burned into her like a branding iron and she found herself shrinking away despite his attractiveness.

"Who are you?" she said, straightening up. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been watching you since you got here," he replied. "How could I miss someone as beautiful as you?"

Briinah blushed hotly; she'd never received such a forward compliment before. People had called her pretty, which also made her blush, but not like this man just did. "B-beautiful?"

"Yes. I think you'd fit right in here. What is your name?"

"Briinah," she said simply. She was unable to do much else, when she thought about it. He had the most hypnotic eyes.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Much as I hate to say it, you're practically _Dibellan_ in your beauty," he said, almost spitting the name of the goddess Dibella. "I, however, shall introduce myself momentarily. Won't you accompany me to the party?"

Briinah didn't know what to do. She really didn't want to be enticed to this dark, wild side of life as Martin had. She was there to  _bring him back_ , not join him and the other partygoers!

The man offered his hand for her to take, ready to lead her closer. He could see the hesitation written all across her face, embedded in her features, but he was determined to have her along with him. With all of them. And he knew who she was there for. He was very well-informed...

Briinah considered that this was probably the best way to get closer to Martin, so there was little else for it. "Very well..." she said, taking the mysterious man's hand. "Where will we be going in there?"

"Well, I was rather hoping I could show you off a bit, if that's alright?" he said with a low chuckle. "Then I can show you a very special place indeed, and I'll tell you who I am,"

She had a rather strange feeling about this, but with luck Martin would notice her if she was at the party as well. Hopefully he'd try and talk to her, and then she could get him away from there. She walked with the man, glancing up every now and again as they went.

"I don't mind..." she said. "I'm here to see somebody, though..."

"I know," said the man with a knowing grin. "I'll take you to see him but only if you agree to give this a shot," He raised his other arm and gestured to the party around them. As they passed a table, he picked up a goblet of wine and handed it to her.

"Thank you..."

"Just relax," he said. "All will become clear--and justified--in time,"

They walked around some more, receiving compliments here, there and everywhere from celebrants all around them. A few times, Briinah noticed people bending their knee to the man. It didn't take her long to figure out why.

Without looking at him--she kept her eyes ahead--she said, "You're Sanguine, aren't you?" It made sense now, thinking back to how he seemed to have a bad attitude towards Dibella, one of the Divines.

The man smiled slowly and stopped walking. He let go of her hand and moved to stand in front of her. "Clever girl," he said, tilting her head up at the chin. "Seems I didn't need to tell you myself,"

A glowing red portal appeared behind him, seemingly unnoticeable to the people directly in its vicinity.

"Accompany me to the  _real_ party," he said, taking her by the hand again. He tried to walk backwards, attempting to pull her in with him, but she resisted. Something was keeping her there in the fields with the rest of the revellers.

Then she knew.

"Briinah?"

She turned around and saw Martin standing there, mouth agape and eyes wide with shock. 

"Why are you here?" he asked. His voice was gentle at first.

"I followed you here," she admitted straightaway. "I wanted to know where you were going all the time,"

His expression darkened a little. "This wasn't something I ever wanted you to see, or be a part of," he growled. "You shouldn't have come here,"

"And why not?!" barked Briinah angrily. "I was  _worried_ about you, for crying out loud!"

Martin looked away, frowning. His friends had joined him now, to see what all the fuss was about. They may have been intoxicated, but they recognised Briinah instantly. "What's going on here? How'd she get here?"

"She followed me," said Martin quietly. Then, looking up and beyond Briinah, he addressed Sanguine. "My Lord...Would you allow me to have a word with my friend for a few minutes?"

"Will you be joining me afterwards?"

"Yes, Lord,"

"Then I excuse you," said Sanguine, releasing Briinah's hand. She left with Martin, going slightly down the hill so that they could get some peace and quiet.

"..." Martin didn't seem to be able to find the right words with which to address Briinah. She didn't know what to say either.

At long last, Martin spoke to her.

"Do you realise how dangerous this place is?" he grumbled.

"Do you?" she countered back. She was glaring at him in the dim sunlight, the day already drawing to a close. 

Martin sighed. "Obviously. But I don't want you involved in this. Now that Sanguine's seen you, he won't easily let you go. Unlike so many of the others,"

"I don't care about that. I just want you safe and out of trouble,"

He smiled darkly. "I like it here. I like the freedom. It's good to get a breath of fresh air and just let myself go. None of the restrictions that are in place in Kvatch. Even if we have to serve a Daedric Prince, he makes it worth our while," he explained. "But for you...I'd rather you weren't here. Go home, Briinah,"

Briinah felt the first surges of pain rushing through her chest. In her heartache, she snapped. "You don't get to decide what I do and don't do! It doesn't matter what  _you_ want. What about what the rest of us want? We want you to be safe! What about your father? Do you have any idea how worried he is about you every time you skip town?"

The bombardment of questions made Martin shake his head, until he rounded on her with irritation in his eyes. "Look, this is my decision and I want you to be safe too. I'll be fine here. You'll be fine in Kvatch. Please, Briinah?"

"No,"

"Briinah, don't be difficult. I always knew you were strong-willed but I didn't think you were  _stubborn_ ,"

"Surprise," she said sarcastically. "Martin, I...I care about you. I get scared every time you go missing without so much as a note for your father. At least then we'd all know where it is you keep going. Here. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you..." Her voice was softer this time, and she looked down at her feet in the grass.

Martin's eyes went soft as well as he looked at her. He hated himself for hurting her, and if he could convince himself that she wasn't hurt then he was a fool. He didn't deserve to be her friend. He didn't deserve to love her. Even with the numerous women running around at Sanguine's parties, he could never bring himself to indulge in the kinds of pleasures that other men did. Every time he thought about it, his mind wandered to thoughts of Briinah.

He took a step forward in the grass and stopped inches away from her. He didn't quite know what he was going to do until he was actually doing it. He cupped her face in his hands and gently tilted it up so that she could look at him. Before she could say anything, he leaned in and tenderly kissed her lips. His chest grew tight as he did so, because she didn't pull away. Briinah's face flushed hot and red and her entire body went limp. She felt weak and as though she could be shattered at any given moment. By the time their lips parted, she almost felt as though she had ceased to exist.

"I love you," he said. "I always have. I don't want you to be in any danger..." he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers. His current lifestyle was not consistent with hers, as much as it pained him, and he didn't want her to be ogled by the other men of the cult. She didn't deserve to be tied down by him, either. "Please go and be safe,"

"Why can't you come with me?" she said, unable to think of anything else. "I-I love you, Martin,"

He smiled gently, and happily. "It's not that simple. It's an addictive lifestyle at the least...and Sanguine's given me this..." He cast some kind of spell and a beautiful, peculiar staff appeared in the hand that wasn't holding Briinah's shoulder. "The Sanguine Rose," he said. "It's his artefact,"

Briinah stared at it in awe but then looked back to him. She was totally in love with him, and even though she vowed that she would somehow pull him away from all this one day, she supposed that to stay by his side even for a little while couldn't do much harm...

"Then I'm staying here with you," she said resolutely. She hadn't even made the decision fully in her own mind yet but there was nothing she could do now. She'd said it, and deep down she knew she wanted it.

"No..."

"Yes," she insisted, before he could protest any further. "You won't come back with me, so I'll stay here with you," She rose up on the tips of her toes and kissed him again, lightly, on the mouth.

"Briinah..." whined Martin in a low voice, preparing to try to convince her against it. Just then, Sanguine appeared next to them.

"Are you finished yet?" he grumbled. "Come back and play with us!" He sounded like a spoiled child.

"We were just getting there," said Martin. "Briinah...Are you sure about this? You're worrying _me_ , now,"

Briinah smirked playfully. "Payback," she teased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooooo readers!
> 
> Thank you so much for coming this far! This was quite a long one, but Chapter Five of this story is now finished! Moving on to the next! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	6. Innocence Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin and Briinah are closer than they've ever been before but will their newfound freedom with each other work out the way they want it to? Are they truly as free as they feel?

"Shh!" hissed Briinah, giggling. "You'll wake the whole city!"

Martin chuckled as they ducked behind buildings and into shadows to avoid the city guards. Briinah was seventeen and Martin was very nearly twenty, but that still didn't mean that they couldn't be arrested and locked up for the evening for looking suspicious. "Don't worry about it..." he murmured in her ear as they hid behind a house. "No one knows we're back yet,"

"No, but they soon will if you keep talking this loudly!" she giggled again. She squirmed happily as he kissed her neck. "Oh, shit! Look!" she whispered, pointing out across the square.

"What is it?"

"It's Jesan!"

Martin looked over at where Briinah was pointing and saw their friend standing guard uncomfortably close to her house. He hadn't long since made the grade to join the Kvatch Guard but he had done so with flying colours. He was a very good marksman, and hardly ever missed. A little like Briinah, Martin liked to remind her. She was always so full of praise for everyone else that she hardly ever recognised her own strengths and achievements.

"You're even more beautiful by moonlight, you know," Martin murmured next to her head. She spun around to look at him, ready to scold him for choosing the wrong moment to say such a romantic thing, but was met with the softest and most loving expression she had ever seen.

"Do you really think that?"

"Of course. You're the most beautiful woman in the world," he said, kissing her jaw. He continued to kiss her, trailing them all the way down her neck until he reached her collarbone, exposed in the tunic she wore. He dusted her collarbone and shoulders with kisses until he elicited a little moan from her. Every time he heard that--he made it his daily work, almost, to make sure he heard that sound--he was reminded vividly of their first time together, the day after she'd decided to stay with him in Sanguine's realm.

"Martin, we can't do this here...!" she whispered frantically, voice almost reaching normal pitch. She didn't want that; the last thing she wanted was for the guards to come looking and catch them. They'd never live it down with their friends. They still didn't know that they were seeing each other.

"Why not? Doesn't it excite you?" His voice was a low rumble against her neck as he continued to ravage it with kisses.

She had never imagined that he had it in him to be so ridiculously seductive. It  _was_ exciting, very much so, but she couldn't bring herself to do it in the middle of town when anyone could look out of their window and spot them, or where a guard could come around the corner and catch them red-handed.

"Can't you just behave yourself for two minutes?" she chuckled while trying to wriggle away from him. She loved to play games with him; it drove him wild and she liked that side of him. Lustful and desperate for attention. It reduced him to an utter wreck, and that way she could manipulate him the way she wanted. He was so easy to play with...Just like her.

"Grr. Fine," he groaned, letting go of her just enough so that she could turn around to look back around the corner for an opening in the guard patrols. He still kept his arms around her, holding her body flush against his. She could feel him through his clothing and hers, and his entire body radiated heat.

"Right...I think they're gone. If we go around the back, we should be able to get to my house without being seen," said Briinah. "Are you coming?"

Martin laughed quietly at the innocence she had still managed to retain. "How do you think your parents would react if I was in your bed come morning?"

She hadn't thought about that, but the alternative pained her slightly. "So you're going home now?" she asked, tilting her head to look back at him.

He craned around to look at her from over her shoulder. "Unfortunately...But I'll be back for you tomorrow, of course. I can't get enough of you," He kissed her cheek and ran his hands down her sides in a sensual gesture. "No school tomorrow, right?"

"No..." she moaned, revelling in the sensation of him touching her like this.

"Then I'll come and get you in the morning..." he whispered, kissing her jaw so lightly she barely felt it. "If that's okay with you?" She could feel his smile against her skin.

"Okay..." She didn't want to leave him, but she had to get away before he pushed her over the edge, and the point of no return. "I'll...see you then,"

"Mm-hmm..." he muttered, kissing her one more time. Before pulling away from her, he decided to have a bit of fun. One of his hands wandered forwards on her body, coming to rest on her abdomen before steadily travelling up her body. His fingers stopped before they strayed too far and touched her breast. He heard her whine and smiled, then pulled away from her. He pinched her bottom and backed away.

"Martin!" she squeaked, jumping at the little pinch. He was a true follower of the hedonistic ways of Sanguine, and a very, very passionate lover. She was a lucky young woman.

He chuckled and winked at her, before waving and then disappearing into the shadows to return to his father's farm. Briinah watched him go as far as she could, before sneaking around to her own front door and letting herself inside. Luckily her parents were both asleep and didn't hear her come in. She and Martin weren't at Sanguine's shrine very often, and hadn't been since their first time there together, so it wasn't as though her parents worried about her whereabouts anymore. They knew she'd be with a friend no matter where she was.

She felt privileged to be trusted so implicitly by her family. Knowing this, she would never betray them. She never went far beyond the city without informing them first and telling them with whom she would be travelling. She never went alone.

As she climbed into bed, she wished she could have spent at least a little more time with Martin. She wanted him there to hold her, but she had the morning to look forward to. She had to make sure she was ready.

-

"Come on, I've got something to show you," said Martin, grinning at her as they walked. It was still quite early, but there were a great many people out and about already. The sky was blue and the sun was shining, and there wasn't a single cloud to be seen. Everything was going smoothly, or it was until their entire group of friends suddenly appeared out of nowhere...

"Hey, guys!" Weedum-Ja called out to them. "There you are! We were wondering where you'd got to!" She hugged her best friend and smiled at Martin. 

"Not far," chuckled Briinah. "Just out and about,"

"Really..." said Athrelor. He eyed Martin suspiciously, and with less kindness than he would have in previous years. "Have you been together all this time?"

Martin and Briinah took one look at each other and smiled. "No," said Martin, knowing what Briinah was thinking. "Sorry about that, we've just been a little fragmented as of late,"

"Hmm," mumbled Athrelor, looking doubtfully over at Merandil. The latter had also recently joined the Kvatch Guard, and so he too was wearing the white garb with the wolf's head on it. "Whatever you say,"

Martin could hear the Wood Elf's doubt, but also his jealousy. It was pretty obvious to him. But more than that, the thought playing on his mind was whether or not he'd be able to get Briinah away from them and off to where he wanted them both to be.

Luckily, they were going to Merandil's house for archery practice. Briinah lied and said that she was going with Martin to his because his father had requested extra help in harvesting the crops now that it was autumn. It was still warm, but if the crops weren't brought in soon it'd be too late.

With that, they all went on with their own agendas, and once out of sight Martin took Briinah's hand and ran with her through the city towards the gates, and then all the way to his father's farm. They didn't go to the house as Briinah expected, but kept going through the fields of corn until finally reaching the fields of grass on the other side. There, flawlessly laid out, was a blanket on the grass and a small picnic breakfast.

"Oh, wow! Martin, did you do this?" gasped Briinah, switching her gaze between it and him and reeling from the impact of the romantic gesture.

"Of course," he said with a smile. "I wanted to do something nice for you,"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You're so cute when you want to be," she teased, letting the tips of their noses touch.

"Only when I want to be?" he laughed.

"Yes. The rest of the time you're you. Devilishly handsome and equally saucy," she replied with a wink. They laughed together and sat down to enjoy their breakfast. The wind was gentle as it rustled in the long grass nearby and in the corn fields right next to them, and birds flew overhead singing sweetly. Briinah hadn't realised but Martin had been watching her looking at all the wildlife with fascination, and he absolutely adored it. He leaned over and kissed her when she'd finished eating.

"Mmf!" she grunted, suddenly startled by the gesture.

"Heh. Weren't you expecting that?" he asked, amused by her cuteness.

"No..." she grumbled. "I guess warning me wouldn't have given it the same effect though," She faced him and smiled, understanding why he'd done what he had.

"Exactly," he said. "But can I please have another?" He shot her a cheeky grin and she obliged, deciding to indulge him a little. Leaning over to kiss him, Briinah received a much more passionate and heated kiss than she'd originally believed she would. When they parted, their eyes met and she saw the heat behind his. It ignited the fire in her heart and seeing this, Martin shuffled closer to her and pulled her into his lap.

He resumed kissing her, more fervently than he had previously, until he knew he could open his eyes and see the pink blush flooding her skin. She was beautiful in every way and he wouldn't ever let her go. No matter what happened. He could deal with jealous friends who liked her too, because he got there first. She was with him, and it filled him to the brim with pride that she'd chosen him. He shifted his hold on her and laid her down on her back, never once breaking their kiss.

Briinah was the one to do so, though. "Mm, Martin, what are you doing?"

"You're driving me crazy..." he confessed. "Indulge me some more?"

This Martin was a stark contrast to the gentle, mild-mannered Martin she'd met years earlier. She loved both sides of his personality, because she knew that the gentle Martin still existed within him. That was proven to her with the picnic. What she hadn't realised was that Martin had done it deliberately to prove to her that he was the same guy he always was. He hadn't changed that much.

Briinah giggled as he kissed her neck. It tickled. "Oh alright then..." she said with a sigh. "How can I say no to you?"

She felt him chuckle against the skin of her neck where he continued to kiss her. "I don't know. How can you?" he teased. He'd told her before that she could say no whenever she wanted. They had been each other's first time, and so they both understood the vulnerability they faced in that situation. Martin had been gentle with her and she had been very tolerant of the pain for his sake too. It had done them both a world of good.

Martin started to undress her as quickly as he could, unwilling to wait much longer for his chance to make love to her. He was utterly besotted with her and every chance he got to be alone with her was precious to him. He didn't strip her completely, knowing that they were outside and being totally naked would be compromising if they had to hide. He undressed himself as far as he needed to, kissing her neck all the while, and ran his hand down her stomach towards her most sensitive area.

"Ah...!" she gasped as he touched her there, but he was already finding it too much for him to handle.

"Touch me..." he whispered to her, gently biting her earlobe.

The heat rose in Briinah's body to almost unbearable levels. Her hands roamed over his body, starting off by being pressed against his chest and moving round to run down his back. Eventually she dared herself to touch him like she knew he would soon touch her. She delighted in hearing his satisfied moans as her fingers traced his length. It wouldn't be long now...

"Ready...?" he murmured in her ear. Since they had both joined the cult of Sanguine, they had often engaged in such behaviours and...quite regularly. Even if they didn't go all the way they were still always together and they were always wrapped up in each other.

"Uh-huh..." she whispered. She could sense his smile as he kept his head next to hers and reached down to free himself. He pushed aside her underwear and kissed her deeply on the mouth, drawing her bottom lip between his to suck on gently. While she was distracted he slipped inside her, allowing himself to adjust before moving lest he spend too early. He'd loved her for so long that, now they were older, it was difficult to resist showering her with all the affection he could.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes..." she sighed. Her breathing was ragged with excitement and adoration for the man on top of her. There was so much heat between them that neither of them noticed the cool breeze passing over their skin. "M-move..." Briinah whispered, rolling her hips against his.

Martin groaned and smiled, pushing her hair out of her face so he could see her properly. "Careful," he said in a dangerously low voice. "I might lose control..." He whispered this last part in her ear, just before thrusting his hips against hers. If they weren't cautious, it would end up being another situation like the last couple in the "quiet rooms" of Sanguine's realm, where they'd gone absolutely wild with each other.

And Briinah knew she couldn't scream that loudly so close to Martin's home.

"M-Martin...!" she gasped. He was moving quite quickly now. Thinking of all the good times they'd already had, and the pleasure she now felt, had caused her mind to go blank and she'd lost a couple of minutes. Never in her craziest dreams had she imagined that he would be this good.

"Y-yeah...?" he said, voice juddering with pleasure. He didn't need to ask why she was calling his name in  _that_ tone of voice; breathy and filled with ecstasy. He chuckled. "You're close, aren't you?" He ran a hand up her stomach from where it had been resting in the grass beside her head, and this time did not stop when it reached her breast. He stroked her there, ever so gently, enticing her to do exactly what she was moments away from doing anyway. He wanted her to let go; watching her let go made him want to do the same.

"Martin?!" Someone was shouting for him. A man.

" _Fuck_ _!_ " he swore, slowing down. His eyes burned hotly with both passion and anger, now. He knew that it was his father calling for him. 

Briinah was nervous, in case Martin's father found them, but she smiled anyway. Martin was making no attempt to withdraw from their activities, but his expression was territorial and protective. She loved it. He may have still been the same sweet boy he always was, but since joining Sanguine's debauched sect he had become much less inhibited and his reservations about things like swearing and drinking had been reduced quite significantly. He was quite the rascal, now. Especially with the pranks he loved to play on people.

That was probably why Sanguine favoured him enough to give him the Sanguine Rose. He was good fun.

"Stay quiet..." he whispered to her, blue eyes reconvening with green ones. All she did was nod and smile up at him.

At one point, Martin's father came so close that they could hear him walking through the corn nearby. Martin tensed up, almost ready to run with Briinah. But his father turned around with a parting comment: "Must be in town..."

"Thank goodness for that..." Martin breathed with great relief. He hadn't lost his desire to finish what he'd started, though. Hearing him use the word "goodness", Briinah thought it very unusual for a Daedric follower. Maybe there was still something inside him that didn't follow Sanguine in his entirety? "Now, where were we?" Martin grinned mischievously at Briinah and rolled his hips against hers.

"Ohh...!" she moaned, instantly being brought back to the edge of climax. He could see it in her eyes.

It didn't take either of them much longer to get there. Briinah was the first to go, as was Martin's design. Then he went too, collapsing on top of her. They lay there for a few minutes, panting in that blissful moment. "I love you..." he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose. He wanted nobody else but her.

"I love you too..." she said, smiling with delight at his sweetness.

They began making the preparations to go back to Kvatch shortly after, redressing and picking up the picnic supplies that Martin had brought out. After returning those to the house, he escorted her back to the city while holding her hand. He kept glancing down at her as she walked beside him, and prayed that she would always be there at his side.

His heart belonged to her, and hers to him.

"Briinah?" he called gently to her as they went. They were coming up the hill to the city now.

"Yeah?" she said sweetly, gazing up at him with glittery eyes.

He'd been trying to pluck up enough courage to say this to her, but he knew that he wanted nothing more. "Y-you know, if you want..."

"If I want?"

"Yeah...If you want to, I'll...I'll marry you one day,"

She nearly fainted when she heard him say it, but she could not deny the sheer and overwhelming happiness she felt every time she ran those words through her mind. And this she did again and again and again. "You will...? You really mean that?"

Martin considered the fact that Briinah may have thought it strange that a member of Sanguine's inner circles was offering to marry her one day but he'd thought of it before he'd even chosen that dark path. He nodded resolutely and smiled at her with more courage than he had moments before. "I mean it,"

Just as they came to the city gates, Briinah put her arms around Martin and hugged him tightly. He could smell her shampoo of wildflowers and honey. "I would love to marry you..." she whispered softly in his ear.

Martin couldn't have been happier to hear this from her, and he couldn't stop smiling as he embraced her back. "Then it's a promise," he murmured, and kissed her tenderly.

It was a promise that he was extremely excited to fulfil, however many years away it may have been yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!
> 
> Chapter Six is now complete! As you can see...we're on to the hotter (and more romantic) side of the story now! Sorry this was another really long one! :P
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	7. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin and Briinah are enjoying the special relationship that they share, even with their double life as worshippers of Sanguine now proving to be more of an interference than a pleasurable lifestyle choice. They're so close, in fact, that they even manage to work through other troubles that arise involving people close to them.

Briinah stepped out of the front door of her home and was immediately hit by a strong gust of cold wind. She shivered and pulled her robes tighter around her body, and up closer to her chin. There were very few people about town that day, and even the slightest of noises could be heard as they were carried from afar on the chilly air. The sky was silver-grey and cloudy and not a single bird flew by. The trees were, at this time of year, totally bare and their branches were brittle and spindly like the legs of a spider. There were even patches of frost upon the cobblestones.

She made her way towards one of the local taverns, where she knew at least some of her friends would be. She couldn't wait to see Martin, but she didn't know if he'd come into town yet that day. When she got to the place she carefully made her way up to the door, path slippery with ice, and pushed open the wooden door. The inside was very dimly lit, with candles offering a little light only in the vicinity of the tables deeper within. As she peered into the relative darkness, Briinah could make out the forms of at least four of her friends sitting there at the largest table.

As she approached, she realised that these people were Weedum-Ja, Batul, Athrelor and Tierra. The latter, by this time, had also become a member of the Kvatch Guard but was not on duty that particular morning despite wearing her garb. She was the first to spot Briinah come in, and waved her over.

"Hey!" she said cheerily. "Good to see you!"

"And you!" Briinah replied, sitting down next to Batul and opposite Weedum-Ja. "How are you all?"

The general answer was that her friends were all well in themselves, and once the pleasantries were all out of the way normal conversation was resumed.

"Say, how have you been getting on with schoolwork?" said Athrelor, looking over at Briinah. She gazed at him with wide eyes, remembering that since she'd started bunking off with Martin she had equally been missing a lot of lessons. But it was okay--she studied on her own time when she got home.

"It's all good," she said with a relaxed shrug. "My grades are holding up,"

"Yeah, my mother doesn't seem too concerned about your studies," said Weedum-Ja in agreement. "Still top of the class," She winked teasingly.

Athrelor grimaced. "How come you can get away with not going to school and still get good grades?" he grumbled. "Nobody else would manage that,"

Briinah sighed gently and shrugged, glancing at Batul next to her who also shrugged her shoulders. The young Orc woman knew that Briinah was as studious as ever, and bookish too. She certainly didn't know what Athrelor's problem was.

"I don't know," said Briinah. "I study at home, and my mother helps me where she can. I practice magic and combat with both of my parents and on my own. I just...study outside of school,"

Athrelor continued to stare glumly at the floor, tracing the flagstones with the tip of his shoe. Just then, voices could be heard as the doors opened again and two more people walked in. Briinah looked up expectantly, and her heart leaped to see that one of those people was Martin. His eyes met hers immediately and he smiled, putting a fault in the conversation he was having with Merandil, the other arrival.

"Hello everyone," said Martin, coming up alongside everybody else sat there.

"Hi!" said everyone in unison, apart from Athrelor. Looking at him, Martin knew exactly why the Bosmer hadn't said anything. When he noticed that he was being watched, Athrelor's eyes narrowed to slits and he glared at Martin as he sat down next to Briinah. He may not have known that the two of them were a couple, but he knew that something was definitely going on.

Martin looked fondly at Briinah, who smiled back at him. Neither of them noticed Athrelor continuing to glower darkly at them. Merandil took a seat next to him and settled in, ready to join in with some conversation. After a while, the talk turned to where exactly Martin kept going every time he was supposed to be at school with everybody else.

"Ah..." he said, chuckling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Just off exploring, really. I want to see what's around,"

"Vast countryside," said Merandil, offering a slightly sarcastic suggestion. "You'd have to ride for miles even to get to Skingrad or Anvil,"

"That's true," said Martin. "I do like to go towards the Gold Coast, though..." he lied. He knew that Briinah wouldn't say anything pertaining to his real whereabouts every time he skipped class, so he wasn't afraid to tell fibs to the others. He didn't want to taint their view of him any more than he already had by being rebellious.

"Does Briinah go with you?" asked Merandil, looking at Briinah with wide eyes in earnest expectation of an answer.

"Of course she does," snorted the bitter Athrelor. "Where else would she go at the same time?"

Merandil appeared to shrink away from his Bosmer friend, having been unprepared for such a vicious outburst. "Briinah?" he said gingerly, taking care not to irritate Athrelor any further.

"Yeah, we just go riding," she lied. She couldn't tell them the truth if she wanted to; the whole truth was really quite ghastly, if she was being brutally honest with herself. "It's nothing exciting, just a case of scoping out the area,"

"O-okay," stuttered the nervous Altmer. "Must have been nicer back when it was warmer,"

"Yeah, it's not really riding weather anymore," said Briinah, smiling kindly at him. She always felt so guilty about lying to people and deceiving them, especially when she held them so close to her heart. "Are you alright, Athrelor?" She then turned to the other elf, furrowing her brow out of concern for his out-of-character display of annoyance.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he growled.

"You sure?" said Martin, then. He knew what was wrong with the man, and he wasn't going to expose him immediately--although he wanted to, badly--but he did feel like teasing it out of him.

Athrelor's eyes snapped upwards to glare hotly at Martin again and he stood up. It was the least menacing thing Martin had ever seen in his life, but he was still anxious that a fight could genuinely break loose among their little group of friends.

"Hey Athrelor, please calm down..." said Tierra, raising her hands and making downwards gestures with them to indicate that the Wood Elf should sit back down.

"Stop it," he snarled at her. His attention turned back to Martin and Briinah. "You're ruining Briinah!" he then snapped at Martin. "You've taken her away and turned her down the same dark path that you've chosen to follow!"

"What are you talking about?" chuckled Martin. He didn't particularly relish the idea of revealing the fact that Athrelor's accusations made him uncomfortable, but that was the truth of it. "I didn't do anything..."

"Save it. I know you like her, and you turned her into a rebel along with you. I didn't think you'd turn out to be such an asshole,"

Martin flinched as Athrelor continued his verbal attack on him, when Briinah suddenly stood up as well.

"Athrelor, I'll thank you not to use such harsh language," she said, her voice little more than a low rumble in her throat, like the threatening growl of a wolf. "And Martin did no such thing. I followed him of my own accord, and it's not as though I've been defiled in any way...I'm still the same as ever. So cool off, would you?"

Athrelor stared at her in disbelief. All her defence of Martin really did, though, was serve to anger him further. "See?!" he barked at Martin, poking his head around Briinah's side to make eye contact with him again. "What have you done to her?!"

"What's the matter with you, Athrelor?!" cried Weedum-Ja, standing herself and putting her hands on his shoulders. She attempted to pull him back to his seat but he struggled against her. "Seriously, leave them alone! They haven't done anything wrong!"

Athrelor looked lost, then turned to Merandil--his best friend--for support. "Merandil, don't you agree with me? Why don't you say something? You care about Briinah too so why aren't you on my side?"

Merandil shook his head and looked down into his lap. "This isn't an argument we should be having," he said wisely. "Briinah's old enough to make her own decisions, and so is Martin. Nobody can make them do something they don't want to do. And while I do care about Briinah, I'm not going to stand in her way and do or say anything that could make her unhappy. The same goes for all of our friends,"

Athrelor didn't seem to be able to process what he was hearing and shook his head violently. He just didn't want to lose Briinah to another man.  _That_ was ultimately his problem with the situation.

"Is that it?" said Batul suddenly. "You're jealous of Martin spending time with Briinah, are you?"

"W-what?" stammered Athrelor. "No! Who told you that?"

"Just the way it looks from my point of view, and how I'm pretty sure it looks to everyone else as well," she replied coolly. 

The Wood Elf felt his brow beginning to break out with a few beads of sweat, a sure sign that he was nervous. Everything was about to be thrust out into the open at the most inopportune time--in the middle of a row--and he was going to look like a fool. He stood up and promptly left the tavern. Merandil sighed and went after him, apologising to the others.

"Well that was...sudden," said Weedum-Ja as she watched both men go. "Are you two alright? Martin?"

Martin was staring into space but he managed to nod in response to Weedum-Ja's question. "Everything's fine," he said at length. "Briinah, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just wondering what's gotten into him,"

"I think he's jealous of you two," said Tierra knowingly. She smiled as she watched Martin and Briinah exchanging slightly panicked glances. "What? You thought none of us had worked it out yet?"

Batul giggled. "Yeah, we know you're seeing each other," she said with a wink.

Weedum-Ja also laughed. "We won't tell the boys," she added. "But it's obvious how much you two like each other. You've always been like that,"

Martin and Briinah both blushed a vibrant shade of pink and looked back at each other. They hoped that there wouldn't be any awkward questions about their relationship and thankfully, there were none to follow the revelation that the girls all knew about their little romance.

"You don't have to say anything," chuckled Weedum-Ja. "Your expressions are giving us all the answers,"

Martin smiled shyly, propping his head up with his hand at his temple. "Well..." he said in a gentle voice. "Now that the cat's out of the bag I guess I can do _this_ ," He put his other arm around Briinah's shoulders and bravely pulled her closer to him.

"Aww," cooed Tierra. "You're cute together,"

Briinah blushed an even brighter shade of pink and turned her face away in an attempt to break eye contact with the others. When she looked away, she caught sight of Martin's face in her peripheral vision. Not only was he blushing too, but he wore an impossibly satisfied and proud smile on his face. Seeing this, she leaned happily into him and wished to be nowhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> This was Chapter Seven of the story! Once again, thank you so much for reading! On to the next part! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	8. Seeking Solace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sudden and horrific turn of events forces both Martin and Briinah to renounce their faith in Sanguine's debauched religion and turn their backs on him. It is time for them to search for other, more constructive outlets.

Martin rushed through town with his head down, making a beeline for Briinah's house. She was the only one who could comfort him now. He knew it was late at night, and he didn't want to disturb her or her parents since he knew they would all be asleep, but he  _needed_  her. Desperately. His mind was shattered and strewn about, mixed up and jumbled, and he simply couldn't form any sensible thoughts other than running to his biggest source of comfort.

The only rooms on the upper floor of the house were those of Briinah and her parents, across the corridor from hers. Briinah's was at the back of the house, however, and so Martin hurdled the fence in his desperation to see her, spurred on by the speed at which he moved. He missed her as she had not gone with him that particular time to the Sanguine shrine. When he stood in their back garden, beneath Briinah's window, he picked up a tiny stone and threw it at the window, hard enough to make a sound but gently enough so that it wouldn't smash the glass or make a crack. His breathing was heavy and he was hyperventilating, and he knew he wouldn't be able to form any coherent speech however much he wanted to; he just needed to hold Briinah, or be held by her.

Briinah awoke with a start, throwing back the bedclothes and padding quickly over to the window where she had heard the sudden noise. She drew back the curtains and peered outside through the misty glass. There below her she caught sight of a figure that was unmistakably Martin. Her eyes grew wide as saucers and she flipped the latch on one of the window panes to open it.

"Martin...!" she hissed to him. "What are you doing here?" Her confused expression turned to one of deep concern as she saw his face: he had clearly been crying at some point and his general appearance was dishevelled and unkempt, as though he had come a great distance solely by running. Which he had.

"C-can I come in...?" he stuttered, breathing going ragged again with misery.

"O-of course!" Briinah said, now terrified for his well-being. She hurried from her room and went downstairs, taking great care not to wake her parents along the way. She gently opened the front door and saw Martin coming around the corner to meet her. As soon as he was close enough he fell into her arms and cried into her shoulder. Except it was less like crying and more like weeping. He was in a state of true despair. Briinah held him tightly and rubbed his back, kissing his forehead.

"Martin, what's the matter?" she whispered to him.

"It was horrible..." he wept. "Briinah, it was horrible!"

"What was horrible?" She was truly scared for him having never seen him in such a state before. She coaxed him inside and shut the door, and kissed the corner of his lips in an attempt to show him that it was alright, that he was safe now.

"We...we were just fooling around, we...thought we could learn the secrets of the Rose..."

"The Rose?" asked Briinah, wondering what he was talking about. Then she realised that he meant the Sanguine Rose, the artefact gifted to him by their unholy master.

"...We were so foolish..." he whispered bitterly, pulling Briinah back into his arms like a small child would clutch at a teddy bear or comfort blanket. "They're...they're dead...!"

"Dead?!" gasped Briinah. She had no idea who he was referring to. "Who's dead?!"

Martin only clung tighter to her body, placing one hand on the side of her head to tuck her under his chin. He closed his eyes before taking a deep, juddery breath and answering her at long last. "The others...The boys who used to go to Alteration class with us..."

Briinah stifled another gasp and put her arms around Martin's back to hold him even closer to her. "What do you mean? How did they die?" she asked, making an attempt to sound even marginally calmer for his benefit.

Again another pause, but this time not for as long. "When we were interfering with the Sanguine Rose, we...tried to use different spells and schools of magic on it, and...it..."

Briinah remained silent, listening to him in what was clearly a great deal of grief.

"It backfired. It shot back at us, with all the forces of Oblivion...It missed me, but it hit everyone else...I don't know why it spared me..." He started to cry again, but still quietly enough that he wouldn't wake Briinah's parents.

"Because Sanguine gave it to you..." she murmured to him.

His eyes were suddenly alight with the realisation that she was right. It served to hit him with another wave of survivor's guilt. "It doesn't matter anyway," he said angrily. "I did away with it as soon as I could,"

Briinah just cuddled him as he buried his face in her shoulder, desperately trying to lose himself in her and her scent. All he wanted was to feel the comfort of being with her, which he felt all the time when they were together, but he needed her soothing presence even more now that things had all gone nonlinear.

"It wasn't your fault..." Briinah told him. "You were just messing around. How were you meant to know it would do that?"

Martin groaned slightly in his misery. "I don't know, but somehow I feel as though I should have..." He followed meekly behind Briinah as she led him to the table in the kitchen. She sat him down and then sat opposite, holding his hands from across the table.

"There was no way you could have expected that. Nothing bad has ever happened until now, so why should it have occurred to you?"

"Because it was to do with Daedric magic and everyone should be wary of it..." he replied unhappily. "And it was in my possession...This is all my fault. Their parents knew that they were spending time with me, and when they don't come home ever again they're going to think I did it...and I suppose I did,"

"You didn't kill them!" protested Briinah. "If you're going to view these deaths as murders, blame Sanguine! It was his Rose that killed them. And, when their parents start asking questions, I would suggest you just tell them the truth..."

"Honesty is the best policy of course, but how can I do that to them?" Martin whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes again.

Briinah smiled sympathetically at him. "I know but you'll have to...And I'll come with you. I went with you into the cult, and I'll go with you wherever you go from here. I won't let you do this on your own,"

"You...won't? Really? But it was nothing to do with you...Joining the cult was even my fault..."

"Can I not make my own decisions? I chose to join you," said Briinah resolutely. "And I will come with you. In fact--I can see it in your eyes--I'll leave the cult with you,"

For the first time that evening, Martin managed a smile. "You could see that in my eyes? That I wanted to leave?"

"Absolutely," she replied, smiling gently back at him.

"You know me so well..." he said with a light, tired chuckle. "Alright. I'll tell them tomorrow..."

"Just come and get me before you go," Briinah advised him, rubbing his hands with her thumbs.

"I will," he said, and brought her hands to his lips to kiss. "You're amazing. I'm so sorry I brought you into this, and I'm sorry I woke you up..."

"I'd have been cross with you if you hadn't come to me," Briinah laughed, stopping suddenly in order to keep her voice down. "So thank you for trusting me with this,"

"We're partners in crime, aren't we?" he said with a half-hearted wink. "Of course I trust you. I love you,"

Briinah's heart skipped a beat as it always did whenever she heard Martin say such sweet things to her. "I love you too..." she murmured, and stood to lean across the table to kiss him tenderly on the lips. "You are not to blame for this," she added quietly. "Sanguine's dark magic is, and we will now do everything in our  _human_ power to redeem ourselves and get away from that life,"

Martin smiled weakly, although he knew that Briinah was right as ever. "I'm with you all the way," he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, lovely readers!
> 
> Thank you once more for sticking with it, it really does mean the world to me! I hope I can write more content that you like ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	9. Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many months down the line, Martin and Briinah have managed to prise themselves away from the dark lifestyle associated with Daedric worship. Martin has recovered from the shock of losing his friends, and Briinah has been there with him every step of the way. But how are they settling into their new lives?

Martin stood on the steps of the Chapel of Akatosh and breathed deeply the fresh, late spring air. He still thought back to the terrible day his friends had been killed but he was grateful to be alive, and apparently off Sanguine's radar. The Daedric Prince hadn't come looking for him or Briinah, and for the first time in many months he felt as though they were free. What was better, he was able to maintain his relationship with Briinah without the seductions of a dark and hedonistic lifestyle spurring them on and encouraging them to be together.

They wanted to be together, regardless of their situation. He loved her and she loved him; there was nothing else that they could ask for. A refreshing gust of wind rushed over his face and he closed his eyes, inhaling the promise of the summer to come.

"Brother Martin," said a voice from behind him. He flinched, not having expected anyone to be behind him. He turned around and saw Oleta, the Redguard healer of the chapel, standing there. "Are you coming back inside?"

He smiled softly and nodded, hair blowing slightly in the breeze. He had been stood outside in the hopes of seeing Briinah, perhaps, but he was out of luck. He should have known better; she was in the middle of her final exam, to earn herself a place at the Arcane University in the Imperial City as she had always aspired to do, no matter what had stood in her way previously.

He regretted influencing her decision to join the cult of Sanguine with him but he most certainly did not regret the closeness and intimacy it had afforded them both, the bond-strengthening time together they'd been gifted with.

"Lead the way, Sister Oleta," he said, gesturing towards the door. Life as a priest of Akatosh was a lot better than he'd thought it would be; he sought redemption in the grace of the Nine, and to serve them and help others was, he realised, his true calling. The only thing he disliked was not being able to see certain people as much as he wanted to...

But they would visit him, instead. His father--when he came into town--would come into the Chapel to see how Martin was faring and stay to talk awhile. Martin's friends would do likewise, and Briinah would come with them. She would often come on her own, as well, and stay much longer than anybody else. Those visits meant the world to him, and always succeeded in lifting his spirits. His heart would leap with expectation every time he heard one of the chapel doors open; he'd spin around to see who came, and even though it was not always somebody he was very familiar with, when it was he found himself in the very best of moods.

As he walked back into the chapel behind Oleta, he sighed while thinking about the possibility that Briinah would visit him again today when she got out of lessons. For now, he had praying to do.

-

Briinah rushed out of the doors of the Mage's Guild and ran straight to the Chapel of Akatosh, her satchel full of spellbooks thumping her on the back as she went. She was excited to see Martin, finally, and really couldn't wait any longer. Not even with the good news she bore. She wasn't going to go straight home and then see him later; she wanted to see him now. It didn't take her long to get there, and barrelled up the steps and through the nearest wooden door.

"Briinah?" She heard Martin call her name from across the chapel, obviously surprised to see her there in such a rush.

"Martin!" she gasped and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him. "How are you today?"

He chuckled and lifted her in his arms, knowing that there was nobody there to see them. Not that it mattered; priests of the Nine were generally allowed to have a significant other. While Oleta and Ilav Dralgoner may not have had spouses, that didn't mean that Martin wasn't allowed. He just preferred to make it look as though all of his waking thoughts were spent on the Divines. Of course, most of them were but there was a special place forever reserved in his heart for his dearest friends and his father, and an even more special one for Briinah, the love of his life.

He kissed her gently when he placed her gently back down on the flagstones. "I am well, thank you," he said affectionately. "And how are you?"

"Much better now I've been able to see you," she said, kissing him again. She'd found it very difficult getting back into the routine of going to school after giving up her life of debauchery with Martin, but only for the reason that Martin was no longer going there with her. She wished that he was, but she was proud of him for becoming a Priest of Akatosh. The people of Kvatch and anyone visiting the city needed his kindness, that uncommonly caring manner that anyone would be desperate to learn to possess.

"You can come and see me anytime, Briinah, you know that," he said, holding her close and resting his cheek on her head. Her hair was so soft, like the downy feathers of a beautiful young bird. "How was school?"

"I passed my exam, so I'll have my place in the Imperial City!" she announced happily. "But...I'm worried about going and leaving you and everyone else..."

She felt the smile spread across his face as he continued to embrace her like this. It was peaceful in the chapel, as it always was, but it was just the two of them there and that made it all the more enjoyable. "I'm so proud of you!" he gushed. "You don't have to be worried about going. You can come back for visits, and then we can keep doing this,"

She realised that he was referring to what they were doing right at that moment, embracing and talking to each other. She nodded and smiled, even though she knew he couldn't tell she was doing the latter, and held him tighter against her. Just then, she felt him kiss the top of her head through her thick brown hair. She looked up at him and he caught her lips in a more passionate kiss. She knew what a kiss like that meant.

"Martin...!" she gasped when their lips parted. The blush tainting her cheeks was obvious, so there was no feasible way that she could deny how much she enjoyed being kissed like that. "You're a priest..."

"So?" 

Even if she'd had her eyes closed she'd have been able to tell that he was wearing that familiar, cheeky smirk on his face. "So, I thought you were supposed to be more...chaste,"

Martin loosed a chuckle that could only be described as sinful. It was positively dripping with allure. "There's nothing chaste about me, Briinah. You know that better than anybody," he whispered seductively. "And even if I am a priest, that doesn't stop me from thinking about you...wanting you...remembering how you feel at my fingertips..."

She shivered with hot excitement as she listened to his words and felt said fingertips drawing patterns on her hips and sides. They came closer to her chest, but stopped at her ribs. "Then you're a very bad priest, aren't you?" she purred in his ear.

"Probably one of the worst...But that's okay. I'm still learning," he growled, voice now nothing but a low, sexy drone. She could hear him pushing his luck in everything he was saying to her now; his quip about 'still learning' suggested that he was still going to try to get away with certain things...involving her. She knew he was dedicated to priesthood, but there was something that stopped him from following every rule...

"Am I standing in the way of you doing your job properly?" she whispered sorrowfully, interrupting him as he gently kissed her neck. He looked worried, and slightly upset that she would suggest something like that about herself.

"Of course not," he said truthfully. "Listen...I think Akatosh could probably forgive me for having a weakness. You are that weakness. I can't help that you're my soft-spot,"

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she listened carefully to what he was saying. She hoped he would never change, and so instead of answering him with words she kissed him deeply. It told him that he was just as much her weakness as she was his. She prayed that Akatosh would forgive her too, for causing one of his priests to stray in this way, and for being unable to be herself without him.

Their kiss broke suddenly as they heard one of the chapel doors open. It was Oleta coming back up from the undercroft. 

"Oh, hello Briinah," she said as she saw the young Imperial stood there with Martin.

"Hello, Oleta. Hope you're well?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

"No, we were just talking," said Martin quickly, smiling at both Briinah and Oleta.

"I need to go and tell my parents about my exam, anyway!" said Briinah suddenly, heading for the main doors herself now. Martin followed her, signalling to Oleta that he would be back momentarily.

They went outside and stopped on the steps. The sky was light blue, with the sun almost preparing itself to start dipping towards the horizon. Martin took Briinah by the hand and pulled her back towards him for a hug. Then quietly, in her ear, he whispered: "I'll meet you by the well after dark,"

He pulled away and winked, before slowly letting go of her hand and returning to the chapel. Briinah shuddered with excited anticipation of their twilight rendezvous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> This was the second to last chapter of this story! I hope you've been enjoying it so far! Final chapter's already been posted! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	10. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Briinah is ready for a new adventure, and her destination is the Arcane University of the Imperial City. Martin is well on his way to becoming a fully-fledged Priest of Akatosh, and the rest of their friends have started following their aspirations to go on the paths that they envisioned for themselves.
> 
> How will Martin and Briinah deal with the distance they'll soon endure?

Briinah's father stood in the doorway as her mother hugged her tightly. "You're going to do amazingly," she whispered to her daughter. "We are so proud of you,"

"Thank you, Mother," said Briinah, hugging her back. She looked over her mother's shoulder at her father, who appeared to have tears welling up in his eyes. "Father? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said with a deep breath through the tears of pride, fighting to keep them at bay. "Just...as your mother said, we are extremely proud of you. We always have been,"

Briinah's mother let go of her so that she could go and hug her father. There was no need to rush as Briinah's place at the university was secure, and the few belongings that she would need for her studies had already been sent on ahead of her. All she had to do was ride to the city. Count Goldwine, absolutely beside himself with joy and pride because of the results of Briinah's hard work, had ordered two of his castle guards--two of the finest guards in the entire city--to accompany her on her journey to the capital. He had also promised to be there to see her off that day.

Briinah's father hugged her tightly and whispered to her, "I always knew you were destined for greatness,"

"Thank you, Daddy..." she whispered back, hugging him as tightly as she could in return. "I won't disappoint either of you,"

"You never could," said her mother. "Just promise you'll come back to Kvatch every so often,"

"I promise," said Briinah with a reassuring smile. Nobody could keep her away from Kvatch, not if they valued their life.

-

Outside, all of Briinah's friends had gathered to wish her luck and see her off. Weedum-Ja came careening over to her and glomped her.

"I can't believe you're finally going!" she wept, holding her best friend even more tightly than her parents had. "You are coming back sometimes, right? Please say you are! And mean it!"

Briinah laughed, wheezing as Weedum-Ja strengthened her already vice-like hold on her, pinning her arms to her sides. "Of course I'll be coming back!" she said, pushing the words out in a rush of restricted air. "Weed, you're crushing me...!"

"Oh! Sorry!" The Argonian quickly let go of her friend and shot her a deeply apologetic look. "I'm just going to miss you so much!"

"I'll miss you too," said Briinah, hugging Weedum-Ja more gently than she'd hugged her. "I'll miss all of you,"

She looked around at everyone stood there: Tierra, Batul, Merandil, Jesan, Athrelor, Ormellius, and more noticeably to Briinah, Martin. He smiled gently at her, but she could tell that he felt exactly the way she did about her leaving the city. Everybody each took it in turns to give her a hug, with Ormellius giving her the biggest one of all, until it was finally Martin's turn. He approached her and gave her a very soft, tender hug in comparison to those she had received from everybody else.

"You're the most brilliant woman I know," he said warmly. "Soon the whole world will know it,"

"Thank you, Martin..." she whispered. She could see the shrouded alcove that hid the well from view from over Martin's shoulder and she was suddenly hit with a flashback of the week before, when he had told her to meet him there. Even as a priest, he was extremely passionate and it was clear that this fact was eternal; it would never change.

He glanced up for a moment and saw everyone around them chatting among themselves but also looking at Briinah from time to time. When he returned to meet Briinah's gaze once more, he said: "Zu'u lokal hei,"

Briinah's eyes lit with recognition at the language he used. He spoke in Dovazhul, the ancient language of the dragons of Skyrim. He'd clearly remembered their days of casually studying it when Briinah had happened upon a book, a dictionary, of this strange tongue. She had been intrigued when she had discovered her own name there, meaning 'Sister'. From time to time since, they had used the language as a means of secret communication when there were people nearby and they were trying to maintain a private conversation. More than that, though, she knew what he'd said.

" _I love you_ ,"

"Ahrk hei, dii lokal," ( _And you, my love._ )

Martin smiled and let her go, but was more than ready to escort her with her parents and Ormellius to the city gates. Everyone started to wave to Briinah, and she waved back at them as she walked. Her heart would remain forever in Kvatch.

At the gates, a horse was saddled and waiting for Briinah. Nearby were the guards who the Count had ordered to look after her along the way. Briinah's parents hugged her one last time and took a step back, and the Count did likewise. Then, Martin steeled his nerves and came back to her, and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.

"I'll be back soon," she said, reluctant to let him go as he was of her.

"We'll all be waiting for that day," he said softly, resisting the urge to beg her to stay. She needed to do this. He just knew already how much he was going to miss her.

Briinah smiled reassuringly and climbed into the saddle of the patiently waiting horse. "I'll see you all soon," she said, and waved to them as the guards moved to flank her on both sides. The ride began, moving slowly along the great winding road down the side of the enormous hill. They remained in sight for quite some time, but just before they moved completely away, Briinah stopped and waved one more time to those she loved. She could see them standing on the edge of the hill, waving back at her.

Her mother. Her father. The Count--her uncle. And her lover, Martin.

She hoped that one day, when she came back, that they would fulfil their promise and get married.

-

Martin watched with sadness as the retreating form of his first, greatest, and only love grew smaller and smaller as got further and further away from home. He did not know that she was thinking the same thing, but his mind wandered to the very same promise that he'd made her all those months before. He loved her, and nothing was going to change that. Not priesthood, not distance, nothing.

Even if their relationship had to be put on standby for the sake of enduring the distance with a little more ease, at least he was safe in the knowledge that she adored him just as much as he did her.

As Briinah melted into the vast, green landscape of County Kvatch, Martin let out a small sigh. Briinah's father put a hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be back soon, my boy," he said.

Martin looked over at the man and smiled. "I know. But even if she didn't come back, I'd go out there and get her," he chuckled.

"You're good together,"

Martin looked at Briinah's father in surprise. "R-really?"

"Yes. I know you'll look after her,"

Martin turned back to look out across the countryside. In the far distance, he could just about see the blue horizon--the sea beyond County Anvil. "Always," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovelies!
> 
> This was the last chapter of 'Growing Up in Kvatch'! I very much hope you enjoyed it; I know I certainly had a good time writing it! I may even have a sequel brewing...
> 
> Thank you all one final time for reading this story! You're faaaaaantastic! ^_^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


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